


Wildlife On Patch

by sectumsemphra



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Domestic, Emotional Hurt, Established Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, James Ironwood Needs a Hug, James Ironwood-centric, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, M/M, Minor Injuries, Nightmares, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Prosthesis, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sectumsemphra/pseuds/sectumsemphra
Summary: James and Qrow have been happily living on Patch together for a while now. The war is over. The Grimm are gone. Magic has returned. Everything is great.And James is NOT going to let some mysterious animal bite get in the way of that.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Raw Eggs Are Good For You

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if there are spelling errors. 
> 
> I am well aware James had two metal hands now, but when I started writing this he didn't.

"Jim? Jimmmmy? Jimsicle?"  
  
Huh?  
  
"James! I'm going to hit you over the head with this shovel in a minute!"  
  
Oh, it was his dear lover, Qrow. His cobalt eyes squinted in the sunlight and he had a headache from sleeping on the ground.  
  
Why had he been sleeping on the ground? Why was he outside at all? What time was it?  
  
"There you are, I was beginning to wonder if some animal hadn't dragged you here for dinner. It's like nine in the morning why are you asleep in our yard?"  
James could see properly now. Qrow was, true to form, standing over him with one hand on his hip and one hand on the shovel that he was wielding like he once did his old weapon, Harbinger. The days of needing huntsmen were over now, and so Qrow no longer needed a scythe for anything more than cutting long grass.  
  
"I heard it's good for posture? I've been hunching over too much lately."  
  
Qrow scoffed, shaking his head as he dug the shovel into the earth and began trimming up the edges of the flower bed.  
"Move or I'm going to get dirt all over you."  
  
James obliged and instead sat up with his legs crossed, his metal hand cool against his cheek as he leant his head on it.  
Qrow had been on the mainland for the weekend, shopping and catching up with Glynda. She and Ozcar were shifting the cogs of the new Vale council, as James had heard. Apparently it took a lot of work to get laws set in motion about magic, something which only one person on Remnant even knew about. James didn't envy her.  
  
"Wait so you saw me as you were walking into the house and didn't think to wake me up?" James asked, only now realising that Qrow would have seen him long before he woke.  
  
Qrow shrugged, "You looked peaceful and a few more hours are nothing compared to the two year hibernation I'm still convinced you need in order to catch up on all the sleep you've missed over the years. Also, did you get into a fight with a rosebush while you were asleep? Your shirt's all torn up at the back."  
  
James frowned and twisted himself around to see the tatters in his nightshirt. He touched the area with his flesh fingers and winced when he found a wound there.  
  
"You _lost_ a fight with a rosebush? Ouch, don't let Atlas find out that their former general loses to shrubbery these days. But seriously, how badly do you have to sleepwalk to drain all your aura on a plant?"  
Qrow's smile flickered and fell, face instead twisting to concern.  
"Hey," he said in a softer, more serious voice, "If they're getting worse, you can tell me. I still get them too and if you've started sleepwalking because of it, we can work something out."  
  
James shook his head, "It's not that. I guess I must have snagged it on something without realising. The sewing kit should be enough to fix things up."  
It wasn't as if his bank account couldn't handle the cost of one new shirt, but more he felt empty with nothing to do around the house, so he'd taken up arts and crafts to busy his mind.

He blamed his semblance. With no clear goal to unhealthily fixate himself on, he was at a loss as to his own purpose without something taking his mind off things constantly. It still wasn't great but it was better than the time he reportedly powered on for two weeks without sleep during a time of national emergency, did all the important work himself, and then slept for a day and had no more recollection of the past two weeks than what anyone else could tell him.   
  
James rose and gave Qrow a peck on the cheek before drifting back inside to check out what the hell happened to him. His metal half was practically covered in dirt, his shorts and shirt doing very little to protect him against the ground. He'd need cleaning and preferably not the kind where Qrow lined him up against the side of the house and fired the hose at him like an uncooperative dog. How many cotton buds did they have left? It was hell walking around with grit in his joints.  
  
On his way in, he happened past the fridge, and, being the man James was, felt an obligation to open it, stare at the selection for a few moments, and close the door again. Qrow had said he was bringing in mainland food you couldn't get on Patch, after all. Whatever it was, the scent of it practically staggered him. Why did the cheese smell so bad? A more pressing issue was why did the meat smell so good? It's raw, James. You're not going to eat it raw you'll give yourself an infection.  
James cast all thoughts of parasites aside as he reached out for the sausage closest to him. Smelled like pork, fresh as well. Practically still squealing. Delicious.  
  
What the fuck. What the fuck.  
Why is it every thought you have early in the morning has to be so weird?!  
  
He was just going to give it a taste. A taste wasn't bad, it would just let him know what it was like. His semblance commanded it. It was certainly squishy, with that slightly greasy texture that all raw sausages had. Ok, there is no use in drawing this out. Just take a bite.

James bit into it and was amazed. Since when had raw food been this delicious? Had chefs been lying this whole time so that people would be convinced they still needed them? No soon had James tried the raw meat than he was finishing it and reaching for another one. Or maybe, he should try a raw egg. The idea of eggs normally was great but the idea of them raw was even better. But how was he going to eat one?  
He closed the fridge and walked over to the carton of eggs next to the stove to select one. Could dump it in a cup and drink it from there, but James was sure his mouth was big enough to fit a chicken egg inside and crush it.  
He was about to pop one in his mouth when-  
  
"I'm not going to judge you or anything but there are better ways to lose a few pounds than eating whole raw eggs," Qrow said casually as he leaned against the counter.  
"I assume that's what you're trying to do, I mean why else would you be eating raw eggs with the shells on."  
  
Shit, Qrow had seen him trying to eat a raw egg? James could feel the heat rushing to his face. At least he hadn't seen him actually eating a whole sausage raw.  
"Oh yeah," he responded light heartedly, trying to make a joke out of the whole situation.  
"I heard it's great for your heart too, or in my case, my dwindling numbers of remaining arteries."  
He patted his side, "Just trying to slim down in time for winter."  
  
Qrow raised a brow, "It's August. Now if you're going to do this I wanna watch."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"If you are going to eat a raw egg, shell and all, I want to see this," Qrow reiterated, scratching this back of his neck.  
"Might be funny."  
  
James didn't say anything more. Instead he grabbed the egg again and tried to work out how he was going to do this. He wasn't a snake who could swallow an egg whole, so he was going to have to bite down at some point and not spew it everywhere.  
Here goes. With the egg fitting into his mouth with surprising ease, James tilted his head back and crunched down. His mouth filled at once with liquid gold, actually and figuratively. Raw eggs were so tasty and the texture worked perfectly with it. When Qrow wasn't around he was trying this again. He swallowed down the gold and his tongue removed the rest of the shell from where it clung to his mouth.  
Did he just moan?  
  
"Jim, did you just moan?"  
  
Crap, that confirmed it.  
"Uh..."  
  
"As much as I enjoy hearing you make that noise, there is no way in hell I'm allowing eggs in our bedroom."  
  
"Aww, I thought birds liked eggs," James retorted with a chuckle, though concern hid itself in his mind. He'd had no desire to eat eggs yesterday, but today they were the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe he was just vitamin deficient. Yes, that was it. His body had overridden his brain and made him crave eggs.  
  
"No," Qrow set him straight, moving closer until his arms looped around James's neck, "Crows like shiny things."  
  
Man, James was a lucky duck.  
  
Apparently not so much when it came to his rosebush related escapades. Turns out it wasn't a rosebush at all. James twisted in front of the bathroom mirror and was more than surprised to see that instead of a few scratches from thorns, he was looking at the bite marks from some kind of animal. A big one at that. It couldn't be a beowolf, grimm didn't exist anymore. Some kind of bear? A dog?  
Whatever it was, the bite didn't seem half as dangerous as it was alarming. In fact, it looked as though it would need a quick bit of disinfectant and then he would be done with it. Weird, but it was nothing. Perhaps he should get one of those baby gates to stop himself sleepwalking.   
  
James would soon brush off the incident as a stray dog. It wasn't as if he hadn't had worse. His addiction to the rawest of meats steadily grew, though he managed to surpress it and keep it hidden from Qrow. All would be fine until the next month's full moon, otherwise known as the third or fourth, perhaps even fifth, worst day of his life.


	2. Coconut Kiss Scented Body Wash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next full moon is a fun time for one oblivious werewolf.

"G'night Qrow," James mumbled as he clambered into their shared bed. It was early- like eight pm- but they'd collectively decided there was nothing worth watching on television and there was nothing left in the fridge for easy pickings so the next best thing to do was either just lie in bed or attempt to get some sleep. The mattress springs creaked as he tugged the duvet over himself, tipping Qrow so that he rolled over and smushed his face against James's metal shoulder.   
Qrow's hair smelled nice. James nudged his partner's head forwards with his shoulder so that it rested more on his collar bone than before and buried his nose into Qrow's head of hair, inhaling deeply. Qrow had a nice, homey smell about him, with a hint of charcoal and-   
Was that peony? It was! Taiyang had been kind enough to give them a whole load of peonies that didn't match the winter theme of his garden anymore (it was only September but apparently gardeners worked in extremes).   
James couldn't help but wonder: what did Qrow taste of at this very moment in time? Of charcoal? Peonies? Good lord that was such a weird thought but now he couldn't shake it from his head. It was stuck there. Therefore the only remedy was to... 

"Did you just lick me?"   
Qrow shifted his grip on the human teddy bear, wiping his forehead.   
"Why?" 

"Why not?" Great excuse, James. Now your dearly beloved thinks you're experimenting with licking people. Well, technically you are? But you wouldn't go around licking just anyone. Only Qrow. James, there is something seriously wrong with you. 

"Mmm, fair enough," Qrow pressed his head harder into James and cozied up to sleep, but not before he stuck his own tongue out for payback.   
"Ugh you taste like your soap," he grumbled as he started to drift off. The great Qrow Branwen in bed before midnight and already almost asleep. They were getting old. Or perhaps just getting comfortable. 

Not too comfortable though, for moonrise meant most disasterous consequences for dear James. Just as his mind was beginning to settle and Qrow had shifted to tangle up the sheets on his own side, James found himself struck with a most excruciating pain (at least a 6, moving towards 7 on the James Ironwood pain scale) radiating from his chest.   
A normal person would've been concerned that a man of his age was having a heart attack. James was doubly concerned as any one of them because he didn't have a heart to be attacked. Ignoring his torment for a moment, he flung the bedsheets off himself (and delicately replaced them on Qrow) and pried Qrow's fingers from their purchase around his arm (followed by an apologetic kiss to Qrow's hand) before hurrying to the bathroom. Good thing Qrow was a heavy sleeper at the best of times. The best of times was usually when he was cutting the grass or fixing up someone's faulty machinery or generally making a racket outside while Qrow slept in, not suffering a potential medical emergency. 

Anyway. James closed and locked the bathroom door before he clung onto the sink, though he was still calm enough to remind himself only to do so with his left hand, for the right would just as easily break the sink as it would break bread. Why was it so hot in here? The window was wide open and it was mid September, shouldn't it be cold? He tugged off his shirt and used it in an effort to cool himself down, moonlight streaming in and bouncing off his prosthetics. Apparently, moonlight made things ten times worse, for no sooner was his shirt off than he slipped over and crashed onto the bathroom floor, cracking a few tiles as he did so. 

As he reached up to haul himself upright, he noticed something very very odd and very very concerning. His veins were turning black? Racing down his arm and towards his hand, something seemed to be travelling through his bloodstream. His mind leapt to the worst case scenario. He'd been bitten by a Grimm that didn't get wiped out and now he was going to infect Qrow and then the rest of Remnant and bring about the destruction of mankind all over again.   
Even in his retirement, James was not the most optimistic individual, it seemed. 

The self help books didn't prepare you for this one now did they, James? No, they did not. The most they prepared you for was a serious self evaluation, not a medical emergency the likes of which was more likely to have you shot than treated in a hospital. That was assuming it was even medical. Maybe this was a nightmare. It probably was a nightmare. But you couldn't feel pain in nightmares therefore unfortunately for him this was very real.   
Whatever this was, it was fine now because at least he was standing up. Sweat made his hair cling to his forehead and his breath was pouring out like steam. Brother gods this was agony.   
Since when had his eyes been yellow? _Glowing_ and _yellow_? 

This is it. This is the end of you James. This is a sure sign that you're turning into a Grimm. Due Process was downstairs in the weapons drawer, untouched for a good few months, coming up to a year now. He could prevent the Grimm from ever- 

All thoughts of anything at all were cut short by a sudden wave of pain and a splintering crack. His bones were breaking, well, the ones he had left were at least. James bit down on his hand so that he didn't cry out or wake Qrow. He was turning into a Grimm, if Qrow came now he might attack him and kill him and then some. Instead, he practically fell into the bathtub and lay there whimpering as teeth turned sharp, nails turned to claws, and the seam in the middle of his chest where flesh met metal began to bend, the metal digging in and causing his aura to faulter. Metal couldn't change like flesh could, so his metal arm hung limply by his side as the tools designed to aid him threatened to kill him.   
James wasn't sure when, but at some point he was pretty sure he passed out. 

And woke up in the middle of the woods that he didn't recognise!   
You've done it now, James. You've gone and lost the plot. Not a shred of sanity left in you. Yellow eyes and claws and black veins indeed. It was a bad dream at worst. 

A bad dream. Nothing but a bad dream. Could bad dreams explain the pile of bones next to him? They were rabbit bones and they had little teethmarks in them like the animal had been killed by a predator. A big one too, some of them were snapped in half or fragmented. Poor little thing.   
Then there was that strange tickling at the back of his throat. James didn't have time for hygiene as he stuck his fingers in and brought whatever was stuck there out. He went white. It was fur. Rabbit fur. He'd eaten a rabbit.   
It hadn't been a dream. This was quite possibly the fifth worst news he'd ever received. On the one hand, he wasn't crazy. On the other, more pressing issue of a hand, he was a were-grimm. Except grimm didn't eat animals. Grimm didn't eat at all. So he was...? James was drawing blanks. Some kind of animal?   
Qrow turned into a bird. That was good. That was normal. That was a gift given to him by Ozpin and last time James checked it was neither painful nor involuntary. Qrow turning into a bird was one of the least wacky things going on in this world of magic and gods and whatever else had showed up since the gods arrived. The bite last month. He'd thought it was weird, but what if he'd been bitten by some accidental magic thing? A creation of the god of darkness just like the Grimm?   
Oh he had, hadn't he? 

Whatever it was, he needed to prepare for the worst. And maybe get back to the house. Getting back to the house came first. It was just about sunrise so Qrow wouldn't be awake yet. That gave him an hour to go back, have a shower to get all the dirt off him, reclaim the clothes he lost in the bathroom, and pretend nothing happened. 

Turns out climbing back through the window of the bathroom was the easy part. Explaining the clawmarks on the window sill would not be. Ok. The longer he could keep Qrow out of the bathroom, the longer he had to fix this. James set the shower going, so if Qrow wondered where he was, the answer would be right there. Next he climbed back out of the window and retrieved wood filler from the shed. It wouldn't be perfect but it would do for the time being.   
James could hear Qrow's heart rate speed up as he began to stir, which meant he didn't have much time left. Backtracking for a second, James realised he could now hear people's heart rates from the next room over the sound of a shower, which was scary knowledge in and of itself.   
The putty was, eh, somewhat believable, so James hopped in the shower and scrubbed as much dirt and grime and animal blood off himself as he could before Qrow knocked on the door and demanded entry for his morning piss. 

Now that he reeked of coconut kiss scented body wash (something his upgraded nose strongly protested against), James opened the door only to be greeted by a half awake Qrow, who fell into him in a tight embrace.   
"G'morning darling," Qrow mumbled, head pressed into James's chest. 

"Morning," James greeted, planting a kiss in Qrow's hair. 

"Aww, no licking this time?" Qrow teased, pushing past to get to the bathroom as he gave James's side an affectionate squeeze. James held his breath for a moment and then told Qrow. 

"I noticed some chips in the window sill so I put some putty down. It hasn't set yet." 

He felt awful lying so plainly to Qrow's face but it was just a little white lie so far. He would tell him about his little development when he was sure he could handle... everything on his own first. What if he bit Qrow accidentally? Qrow was already a bird, what if being bitten killed him? James wouldn't be able to live with himself after that. So his little predicament could stay under wraps for the time being. He was going to tell Qrow, eventually. He was. Just not yet. 

"Okay, I'll watch out for it," Qrow replied, spotting the patch of repairs pretty quickly. 

Phew. He bought it. A pit started to form in James's stomach with the familiar feeling of guilt. He'd led his life only ever believing in honesty, only to turn around and lie like it was natural?   
"I'm going down to the shed, I've got some stuff to work on, okay?"  
For once, not a lie. If turning into a monster was going to be painful, his prosthetics should at least accomodate him as best they could. He was an engineer for longer than he was ever a soldier, he was sure he could figure something out. 

The "shed" was more like a hugely dedicated workspace filled with the best Atlas tech he could have installed, but that was a bit of a mouthful so he and Qrow had ended up just calling it the shed. For James, it was a little piece of his home in the clouds brought to his home on Patch.   
The first order of business was to pop his arm out of the socket, which was just an internal and external flick of a switch and a couple of tugs before his right arm was on the work table in front of him.   
"Hello Shed," he spoke out loud the start up command for the shed's interface. Almost everything was either voice activated or accessible at the touch of a button for ease of use. He could ramble on for hours about it and have everything voice recorded so he wouldn't forget.   
"Open up a new project file and call it," hmm, what could he call it? His paranoia led him to need it to be something Qrow would never think to open. If it was password protected, that would be too obvious. Perhaps he was thinking too much on it.   
"Call it New Project 3." 

The hard light dust screen obliged and showed him the new file. Step one of making an arm and leg and modifying the torso to shift properly had begun: research.   
The only problem was his memory, while slowly returning (apparently he'd spent three hours rolling around in a patch of bog), was still very patchy. He had to fill in the biological aspects based off the arms and legs of different animals. He knew he'd been running on all fours, but not in a weird, horse way. More in like a bear way? Or in an utterly cliche, werewolf way. He'd let his computer work out what was most likely based on the local wildlife. 

Several hours later and he pretty much had what he could call a finished product in terms of a plan and a serious amount of mental damage from the number of clips he'd watched from werewolf fantasy films, including _Atlesian Werewolf In Mistral_. James was actually glad he managed to pass out before he got to that stage. His hyperfocus helped as he powered through mountains of information, processing and filing away in his mind so that he could make something that could support his weight and still make him look symmetrical because if he wasn't symmetrical at all times he might as well just stop existing. And maybe spray paint it matte black so it wouldn't be so painfully obvious there wasn't fur there. 

The fridge had some ham in it which he made into a sandwich in case Qrow walked in and caught him mindlessly consuming the meat drawer for the third time.   
Think of the devil and he will appear, for Qrow had just gotten back from patrol. He was a policeman these days, not that Patch had much to police, but they had both decided that being out of work entirely didn't sit right with them and instead they would take part time jobs so they wouldn't feel as bored. James did mechanic work, for the most part, fixing people's various machines and even building new ones from scratch or doing testing on new Atlesian prototypes that they sent him from time to time to keep him in the loop. 

Qrow stopped and stared at him. Was something wrong? Oh goodness were his eyes yellow? Did he have fur? His heart began to pound. This was it, he'd have to come clean and then Qrow would be afraid of him and he'd live the rest of his days as a science experiement in some lab.  
"Something wrong with your arm?" 

"Huh?" 

Qrow gestured to the empty socket on his right side as he sat down with his own bowl of soup.  
"You only normally take it out if there's something wrong with it." 

"Oh! Uh, yeah, just a routine go over to check nothing's bugging up," James replied with a reassuring smile. It was worrying how quickly the lies fell out of his mouth. He'd have to start keeping tabs on them to make sure he didn't accidentally double cross himself. 

Qrow frowned again and James could feel the blood rushing to his face. What was wrong? What had he said? This was the problem with lying James! You're a terrible liar! You couldn't lie to save Atlas what makes you think you can do it to the person who knows you best out of anyone? Qrow was reaching across the table to... to...   
gently cup the side of his face and run his fingers through his beard?  
Qrow's thumb lifted up the corner of his lip to expose his teeth and James let it, thinking nothing of it. 

"Jeez, Jim, your teeth are getting sharp. Have you been filing them to a point or something?" 

Make something up! Quick!   
"My canines? They've always been really pointy. I guess I just don't normally smile as much as when I'm with you."   
You're a sap, James. 

Qrow shook his head with a playful smile on his face, "Didn't know you were such a sap. I think I smile more, genuinely, around you too." 

That. That right there was everything he had to lose. That was his purpose. His existence. War was his old purpose, constant and unceasing with all the chips on the other player's side. At last he had a purpose that didn't threaten to destroy him the deeper he got. Now he was the one threatening to destroy it. 

Based on that train of thought right there, he should've at least predicted the sudden swathe of panic that gripped his chest when he got back to the inside of the Shed. He couldn't breathe or move or think at all. It happened again. The thing that happened last night. The sudden pain, the blackening veins, the claws, the- okay you've lived through it once no need to say it all a second time.   
What if Qrow came in to check on him? What if he tried to attack Qrow? What if he escaped? Each thought sped up his heart more and more as it pumped furiously. Panicking sped things up. Stop panicking. Stop panicking! Easy for you to say, rational part of the brain, you're not part of this fucking panick attack! 

Ugh. He ached. Everywhere. None of his stuff had been damaged though, miraculously. Apparently he'd been more absorbed in trying to take down the door than destroy anything else. James wasn't sure if he had enough wood putty to fill all that in.   
So no more panicking? That was going to be so easy to do for a man with over quadruple the stress levels of the general population. Wonderful, brilliant. One trauma-fuelled nightmare and you can kiss goodbye to the man you were happy to spend the rest of your life with! 

The bright side, if you could call anything a bloody bright side (oh great, he'd put himself in a mood), was that he was pretty sure he'd captured the whole thing on film. He had a security camera in here due to how expensive the tech was. Therefore, that was more help going towards New Project 3. He could tweak his plans and make his changes to the prosthetic arm and leg. The difficulty would be in making sure that the entire human function was the usual shiny metal and the animal function was the same colour as however his fur looked. A half metal werewolf. Was he some edgy child's power fantasy now? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for subjecting you all to this but thank you so much for reading.


	3. Woollies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taiyang's annual barbecue falls on a new moon this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler chapter lmaoooooo.

"You sure you wanna do this, old man?" Qrow asked in a taunting tone, brandishing his weapon before him. 

"Old man?" James spluttered, "I'm only five years older than you!"   
Qrow would pay for that and so James drew his weapon of choice to match Qrow's. 

Battle commenced, neither man willing to back down until the other fully surrendered. Qrow's soup ladle made quick work of hooking onto James's braced arm, yanking the man closer so that he sailed right into Qrow's closed fist. James was not so easily caught however, and instead pivoted his feet and leaned back hard so that Qrow flew towards him instead.   
Still with his grasp firmly on the ladle, Qrow swung under James's arm and around, delivering a kick to his back as he sprang away. Before he could, however, James had already flicked back at him with the towel in his hand and caught around the ladle. Qrow let out a laugh which triggered James's own giggling fit as they chased each other around the kitchen table, Qrow lurching for his ladle back while James just tried not to slip over on the tiled floor.   
"Who were you calling old man? Can your knees not keep up?" James called behind him as he just barely slid around the corner of the table without crashing into the sink. 

That was the final straw. Qrow pounced and landed on James's back, toppling him over and forcing him to lie still.   
"Gotcha," Qrow whispered as he flipped James over to give him a kiss. Just as he leaned down, Qrow stopped.  
"James what the fuck?" 

This wasn't part of his memory. 

Qrow backed up immediately and stepped away, eyes transfixed on James as he felt for the door handle so he could run. He could feel the panic rising in his chest as he watched Qrow try to flee.   
"Qrow wait! Please, come back!"   
He bounded after Qrow, not on two legs but on four, one clawed metal paw and one flesh paw. It didn't take long to tackle him to the ground and even as Qrow screamed and begged for mercy he couldn't stop himself as he- 

The image of Qrow's dead eyes stayed with him as he awoke, a banging headache ricocheting around his skull. It was so bright outside, but most importantly, where was Qrow? James felt for the bed next to him but found it was dead cold and had been for a while. The scent of Qrow lingered thick in it, though. He needed to find Qrow. More than anything he needed to look at him just once and know that he was okay. Because what if he wasn't? What if that hadn't been a nightmare? What if it had and it had caused him to lash out at Qrow in his sleep? This was it. He was selfish even still being here, he should just go and hurt Qrow for a little bit now. A heartbroken Qrow was better than a dead Qrow, a mauled Qrow, a bitten Qrow. 

"Qrow?" he called out, somehow fully dressed despite only just getting out of bed. Not only that, but dressed in his old military uniform of the white greatcoat and dark blue trousers with his belt so tight around his waist that it held him upright and stole his breath. 

"I'm downstairs, James," Qrow called and James visibly tensed. He sounded so cold and his voice dripped with venom. Tentative footsteps heralded him down the stairs to where Qrow was sat at the kitchen table, back turned to him.   
"When were you planning on telling me?" 

James swallowed thickly, breath hitching in his throat as he approached the table and grasped the backrest of the other chair.   
"Planning on telling you what?"   
He knows, James. He knows about your lies. He knows about everything you're keeping hidden from him! He knows about what you are! You thought you could keep it hidden even for this long? Ha! Look at you, you're trembling. 

"I found the project files in the Shed, General," Qrow continued, only now looking at James with cold, narrowing red eyes. Shit. James was so dead. Qrow was going to leave him and maybe call animal control or some sort of vet with a heavy enough tranquiliser to knock him out in one and then he'd be sent straight to a zoo. Maybe a zoo was pushing it but some sort of facility that specialised in making sure that he was miserable for the rest of his days. This would be a story Qrow would tell for years to come. How some idiot werewolf thought he could actually live a normal life. 

"Oh," James barely breathed out the word as he backed away, the aura that surrounded Qrow giving off nothing but pure hatred.   
"I'm sorry-" 

"You know, I trusted you. I thought we could be happy together for once but no, no you're the same as you've ever been. A liar who only looks out for himself without even thinking about other people. How long did you plan on going without telling me you were some wild animal?" 

"Please it's only been a few months, I thought if I could get it under control then I could pretend- I'm sorry I should have told you the truth outright but I was scared I'd scare you away again," James begged. Don't cry. Don't cry. Okay revision on that order. Stop crying. Stop crying! 

"Well," Qrow huffed, "Looks like you were afraid of the right thing for once. This isn't some fairytale where I stick around regardless of how much of a monster you are. Wake up." 

Wake up James did, to the delightful sound of the toilet flushing as Qrow exited the bathroom to clamber back into bed. He covered the wetness on his pillow by shifting his head forward and made his consciousness known to Qrow by reaching out and poking his back. Qrow responded by sticking cold feet on James's thighs. It was just a dream. A terrible, never-want-to-repeat-that-in-my-life dream, but a dream nonetheless. Dreams did not hold any semblance of reality whatsoever. Why are you making this sound like you don't believe it, James? 

"You're boiling, Jim," Qrow told him in a sleepy voice as he rolled over to face him. He put the back of his hand to James's forehead and made a hissing noise once it made contact as if his hand has been singed.   
"Boi-ling. Are you sick? And it's Saturday, stop wriggling and lie in with me." 

To be honest, yeah. James felt sick as a dog. One of those nasty little white dogs with breathing issues, messed up hips, and faulty tear ducts that made it look like it was crying brown gunk all the time. It was weird. Usually this whole werewolf thing gave him more energy, he felt stronger than he had in months and reckoned he could outrace himself back when he was in his prime, even on two legs. Apparently not today. Today he was just dead. Today was also the day he and Qrow had said they'd go to Taiyang's barbecue to catch up. Somehow, despite living on an island that could be cycled all the way around in less than two hours, they'd managed to just not run into each other at all.   
Except for that one time when Tai's microwave broke so he asked James to come and fix it, which he did- by turning it off and on again. James was just as bad at small talk as Tai was at fixing microwaves so after a couple of cups of tea that Tai insisted on getting down him, he'd shuffled out of the house.   
This, on the other hand, was proper social interaction. Apparently Tai's end-of-harvest barbecues were one of the biggest seasonal events on Patch and James wasn't sure if that said more about Taiyang or the island itself.   
James was already making plans on how he was going to spend the evening. Grab a drink as quickly as possible and then look for a person in the centre of a mass of people who is telling some sort of anecdote. Join the edge of the mass. Half listen to the story, half drift off into own thoughts. Food should be ready by then. Be offered food. Be polite and passive. Stand next to flower patch. Look as though contemplating flowers hard. Be ready to talk about own love of flowers to bystanders if prompted. Wait a while. Majority of guests leave. Be offered alcohol. Decline. Decline. Decline. Accept for a small glass but be given a large one. Sit in deck chair. Hum non-commitally to any statements made. Be found by Qrow if not already. Go home. 

It would be great! Qrow, of course, would probably be busy talking to Tai and whoever else he knew. There were rumours going around that even the great huntress Ruby Rose herself might show her face at the promise of her father's barbecue and as such, she would most likely drag him off for a dramatic retelling of one of his adventures. Miss Rose wasn't James's biggest fan and he wouldn't dare blame her, so he couldn't expect much interaction with her. Before his thoughts could sink themselves down that path, he responded to Qrow. 

"No I'll be fine, I'm probably coming down with a cold. You should back off, you don't want to get sick too." 

Qrow chuckled, "It's a bit late for preventative measures. You've probably already infected me." 

Ice spiked through James's heart. He knew, logically, that he hadn't infected Qrow with his new monthly affliction, but the very thought of it coming out of Qrow's own mouth was enough to make his insides tie intricate pretzel knots around themselves and squeeze until it hurt. He laughed it off but not sincerely. He needed to shower to feel clean again but he was so tired and slow. He was dozing off at the thought of so much exercise. A whole shower? Standing up for at least ten minutes? No way (Apparently James hadn't experienced the sitting-down-in-the-shower revolution yet). 

He should just close his eyes for a few more minutes. The blankets were warm and sure, he might have another nightmare but what was trauma relived on the big screen in 3D compared to the sweet darkness of lying there unconscious? Qrow was here with him. The real Qrow. The one he loved and wanted to kiss and be close to and hold and... and... 

James was already asleep again. It wasn't quite hibernation, nor would it make up for his habit of late nights and early mornings, but it was something. 

  
"Okay, you have to get up for real this time," Qrow was poking him in the shoulder as he awoke. It was dark outside again? How long had he been asleep, this was getting weird. He couldn't sleep that long even if he shot melatonin through his eyeballs.   
"We have an hour until we have to go, and as much as I love you, you smell," Qrow told him on no uncertain terms. James heaved his big, sluggish body over to the bathroom and almost slipped over the mat he had strategically placed on the floor to cover where he'd cracked tiles after his first... monthly issue. 

Nothing of note happened until they arrived at Taiyang's house, James carrying the two bottles of wine they'd agreed to bring and Qrow carrying the slightly less fragile plate of vegetables chopped in weird shapes in case his bad luck caused him to trip and fall. The vegetables were a last minute idea born from the moment that the two realised they had very little collective knowledge of what one brings to a barbecue. 

"Heya Qrow, James," Tai beamed, taking the items they presented and setting them down on the table.  
"Perfect night for it, isn't it? No moon, stars are all out, no wind either! Now how have you two been?"   
The conversation was right on track to being average person talk, and as more and more guests arrived, James found himself the perfect opportunity to ask if anyone wanted a drink or refill and slip away for a moment to the drinks table. 

"General Ironwood, wasn't it?" 

James's ears pricked at the voice from next to him and he turned to see a shorter old man with a weatherbeaten face and shaggy grey hair standing closer than he expected.   
"Oh, there's no need for that title anymore, sir. General Schnee wouldn't hear of it. Call me James, I'm uh, here with Qrow."   
He reached for another paper cup for Qrow which he filled with punch. 

"Well my name's Platinum but folks round here call me Platty, so if you're a folk from round here now too, you can call me it just the same. Heard you moved here after the whole riff-raff with ancient gods and spirits and I don't know what," Platty waved his hands in dismissal. Ancient gods and spirits and everything else pretty much summed it up.   
"I don't suppose you're still involved in all that business are you? Didn't seem like you were. Patch is a nice island- for the most part. You get the occasional troublemaker or two but it's mostly just kids messin' around. Something strange has been going on with my sheep recently though." 

James had been half listening up until this point and half battling to stay awake. Now Platty had his full attention.   
"Oh really? How so? I'm no expert on sheep but if I can be of any help."   
Please don't say some wild animal ate one. Please don't say some wild animal ate one. James had enough on his plate, he didn't need the weight of potentially ruining a man's livelihood by having a sheep for a snack while he was running around the woods as some beast. Platty seemed to pick up on his tension and gave him a hearty clap on the shoulder. 

"Don't you go looking so tense lad! It's nothing you've done, by Jove," he chortled, "No, no, I've never seen the woollies look so timid before, well, 'cept for when the Barghest comes round once in a while." 

"Poor woollies," James murmured, feeling rather guilty for something that, despite Platty's assurances, was probably his fault.   
"What's a barghest?" 

"The Barghest," Platty corrected, "Is a huge great black beast that roams these hills and has done since as long as anyone can remember. He's got glowing eyes and he's the size of one of our calves, he is. An' he always shows up at the end of a man's life."   
Suddenly, Platty burst out with a barking laughter which spluttered into a coughing fit.   
"What's up with you?! You're looking like you've seen him! I didn't mean to upset one's gentle constitution, dear General, it's only an old wives' tale." 

"Hey Platty! Come over here and tell us about those sheep rustlers from last winter!" called a young boy, waving the old farmer over. 

"I'll be going then James, but don't lose too much sleep over the Barghest now will yous?" the man left, coughing and laughing as he went. 

"That's what's taking you so long," Qrow laughed from behind him, startling him slightly. That was strange, his newfound abilities usually meant that he could hear or smell people coming before they arrived. Maybe it was because he was so tired.   
"Platty's lived on Patch since before Tai was born, hell of a talker isn't he? Like a runaway mine train once he gets going." 

"Yeah, he really is," James agreed, worry etched into his face even as he handed Qrow the punch.   
"He really seems like he-" 

"Like he knows exactly what you're thinking?" Qrow finished, taking a sip as he linked arms with James and steered him over to the conversation Tai was having with someone.   
"His semblance is telepathy. Used to work part time for the police when he was younger. Always knew when it was our team causing trouble no matter how sneaky we thought we were being. It even started a challenge for who could do something without him figuring it out. Bastard only told us about it when Tai and Raven settled down." 

James prayed to high heaven that his artificial heart didn't give out right then and there because everything on this damn island was determined to make it stop.  
"Telepathy?" he choked, punch travelling straight down his windpipe instead of his throat. If he wasn't awake before, he certainly was now! 

Qrow couldn't help but chuckle, "You weren't thinking dirty thoughts around him were you? Oh brothers you were! Don't worry about it he's heard more from me if anything. Man was a real looker back when I was, what, seventeen? That poor, poor man." 

"I don't think I can," cough, cough, "keep living on Patch anymore," cough, "I gotta leave!" James exclaimed as he rid his lung of all the punch that had swamped it. 

"He's got dirt on everyone," Qrow reassured, "Now come on, food! I'll even ask Tai if you can have some raw if you want." 

James shook his head, mouth still twinging with laughter until he felt another yawn coming on. So the full moon turned him into a monster and the new moon sent him to bed feeling as sick as a dog. What next? The waning gibbous turned him into a gibbon? He wouldn't be surprised. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James thinking about Qrow: 🥰😍😘💘💝💞💖  
> James thinking about himself: EW 🤮🤮🤮
> 
> If he was healthy I wouldn't have anything to write about


	4. Cute and Fuzzy Woodland Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow has an encounter with the strangest of beasts.

Qrow finished up writing the report pretty quickly, mainly because the kid in front of him look as though he was going to burst into tears and he couldn't be dealing with a crier five minutes before he was due to clock out. It had been just his luck to find some kid doing graffiti on the side of the police station as he was pulling back in from patrol (on the side of the station? C'mon had he wanted to get caught?). Under normal circumstances, he would've told the kid to scram and been done with it but the security camera was right there so he felt obligated to go through official protocol. His red eyes flickered back up to the boy as he signed his name on the bottom of the report. He was just a few years younger than Ozcar.   
"Alright kid, you can go but don't let me find you doing that crap again. If you don't show up tomorrow morning to clean that up, I'll phone your mom." 

The kid nodded vigorously and took off, either frightened out of his wits or very much acting like it.   
Qrow stretched back in his chair and stared at the clock on the opposite wall, until the back of his chair made a nasty snapping noise and he pulled himself forward before his bad luck could truly take effect. His shift ended in three... two... one and he was already out the door. It might have already been dark out and a cold enough November night that he could see his breath pluming like dragon smoke, but the moon was full and bright and he had his jacket with him. Home wasn't that far away anyways and if he seriously needed to be there that quickly he could just fly. His latest text from James was that he was already home and planning on putting a baked potato in the oven, would he also like one? Hmm, sure, might as well.   
Sliding his scroll back into his pocket, he dug his hands in to his jacket and tried to enjoy the scenery. The path home was a walk through the woods but even after these many months of Grimmless walking, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had to be on guard at all times, that something was watching him from out in the darkness. It was silly really, but it was enough to encourage him to speed up until he got to the house, safe and in one piece. The most he carried with him was a shotgun these days, which was barely even a taste of the shotgun-scythe-sword he once wielded in battle. He should be more pleased about being able to settle down and not do anything. He and Jim were living together, how mad was that? Wouldn't have dreamt that up two years ago. 

James was great. Better than great. Qrow was no wordsmith but he was sure there were better words to describe James than great, he just didn't know them. He still gave Qrow butterflies in his stomach when he laughed and he felt like a teenager with his first crush all over again. Recently, however, James had been acting strange. Qrow wasn't quite as oblivious as one might expect, he knew when something was going on with his partner, he just couldn't seem to be able to put his finger on what. James seemed to be holding on to something and it was making him skittish. Now he could just as easily ask James to sit down and talk to him but knowing his luck, it wouldn't go well. They were both awful with their feelings, so much so that they tried to conceal their feelings for one another until they were thrown together and forced to confess. James, for all his virtues, was awful at small talk. His mouth just clogged up every time someone asked him about how he was doing, or his career, or the weather. That wasn't saying that Qrow was any better, he just danced around the question.   
This was where his problem lay. How do you get a man to communicate with you when you yourself are not a good communicator?   
The usual answer was you don't. So he was back to square one. Something had to change or they'd be stuck talking around the elephant in the room forever and the elephant only grew larger day by day. Qrow would just have to brave it. Be direct for once. Get to the bottom of this with a little discomfort on both sides but ultimately spare future awkwardness! And he was going to do it tonight! 

Well, he would've done if James had been home. Instead, a jacket potato wrapped in silver foil and a note were left waiting for him in James's scrawl that he called handwriting. 

_QROW!!_  
_Platty tractor breakdown. Needs doing quick. Potato ready in foil._  
_xx_

Qrow picked up the note and stuck it to the fridge as he opened it to grab some cheese and beans for his potato. It was a nice night tonight, so he'd eat it on the porch. That was something he could never fully wrap his head around. These days, he could just sit out in the open, no weapons, no nothing. Nevermind every rustle of the trees was enough to make him tense for a moment just in case. That couldn't detract from how nice the night still was, though. If only James were here to spend it with him.   
Just as he was sighing and stretching his legs out onto the dewy grass, he felt a certain presence. Aura trained like his never lost the ability to sense things around him, so Qrow knew for a fact he wasn't being anxious- he was being watched. He rose and carefully tracked his eyes around the treeline, looking for something that could indicate who or what was there. Most likely scenario was a deer who got too curious but something told Qrow that this was- 

The intruder made their presence known. The huge great beast stepped out from the trees and into the illumination of the moonlight, a low growling noise coming from its throat. From here, Qrow was able to stare dead into its burning amber eyes. The beast was less than fourty feet away and getting closer every moment. Even without Harbinger he was an accomplished huntsman, he'd been forced to fight without his weapons before. It wasn't a beowolf, though it was about the size of one, like an overgrown sheep or a cow with stunted growth but bulkier. It was hard to judge with how its fur blended into the darkness.   
"What are you?" Qrow breathed, and the creature seemed to respond, pointed ears flattening as the growling became louder. It almost looked like it was preparing to spring at him. Qrow got ready to dive out of the way or dive at it. This thing was the biggest monster he'd seen in a long time, it couldn't just be allowed to run around Patch!   
Right when Qrow expected it to pounce, its head flew back and it unleashed an agonising howl unlike anything Qrow had ever heard before. Jaw agape, the huntsman watched as the animal's eyes locked with his once more before it tore off into the woods again. There was only one thought in his mind:   
He needed to follow it. 

The undergrowth was thick but years of hounding after grimm meant Qrow was still agile enough to keep the beast on the very edge of his vision, snapped twigs and branches that he passed assuring him he was still running in the right direction. He couldn't wait to tell James about this when he got home. So long as he survived. Had Qrow had more braincells active in the moment, he would have realised how downright dangerous this endeavour was. Seriously, what did he intend to get out of it? 

All thoughts were cut off by the sound of another howl from through the forest. The beast had fallen out of his sight for just a few moments and the cry sounded like it was in pain. Had it hurt itself? No other cute and fuzzy woodland creatures sounded like that when they were wailing for their lives. Qrow almost met the same end from thinking too much while he was running, for the ground soon gave way to a steep embankment which Qrow's brilliant luck had him fall 

all  
the way  
down.   
Yay. 

Having landed in a heap of limbs but thankfully no broken bones, Qrow was able to see where the wounded beast was. He half expected it to have snapped its neck in the fall and leave him with the decision of whether to let it die naturally and comfort it as it passed or whether to get it over with quickly and end its suffering. Luckily, he never need come to that dichotomy for the beast was a short way away, growling and snarling like nobody's business with only the occasional break to whimper and whine. Qrow sourced the issue immediately, its hind leg was caught in a snare that glinted at him wickedly in the moonlight. The more the beast tugged, the more the snare dug into it and the more it tried to escape. It was a vicious cycle and one that would cut its leg clean through if it didn't stop. It was already bleeding heavily and getting more and more desperate. Burning eyes flickered between the snare and Qrow. 

"You're clever, aren't you?" he said cautiously, approaching the beast with his palms open and careful steps. He didn't want to scare it but he didn't want rabies either.  
"You know I can help you." 

The creature sniffed loudly in response, paws bouncing off the floor. 

"But if you want me to help you, you have to let me near, and that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? You think I'm gonna hurt you," Qrow was getting close now. Biting distance close. He had his aura up and his aura had been made strong by years of being broken. It could handle a few teeth for a couple of moments before he freed the animal.   
"Well I'm not. I'm just going to-"   
He crouched down and slowly moved towards the injured leg. Never in a million years would he claim to be any sort of veterinarian, but he was pretty sure it was a nasty gash. 

Ears flattened against the skull as lips curled. The beast was much taller than him now that he was crouched and could knock him over with one movement if it wanted to. This was a warning.   
"What big teeth you have, Wolfie," Qrow gulped, "All the better to smile in pictures with?"   
Tragically, it didn't seem to pick up on the joke. Instead, its head crept closer and closer to Qrow's, nose inspecting his scent to see if it could detect even the slightest whiff of danger. Qrow knew better than to make any sudden movements right now. He also knew better than to let his guard down. One wrong move from Beasty and he was getting the hell out of there. Its cold, wet nose brushed against his ear and started sniffing all through his hair like it was looking for something. Wasn't this what happened right before you got eaten? No, that was bears. Maybe it applied to wolf monsters too? What on Remnant was it doing now? 

Before he knew it, Qrow had been licked right up his forehead. Monster saliva was now making his hair stand on end. Were it not for the tense situation, he would've flattened his hair right back down again. No one, not even beasties, could know about his hairline. It was almost offensive how the creature recoiled after it had gotten a taste of him. Did he really taste that bad? It stared at him for a good few seconds, face softening almost into one of approval before it nudged him over towards its hind leg. 

"Uh, thanks?" Qrow wasn't exactly sure what to say, but it filled the silence to a certain extent. He could almost feel its eyes boring holes in his back. One wrong move and it could maul him. One wrong move. The wire was already deep inside the flesh, it would be hard to remove unless he dug a bit. Although, now that he was looking at it properly, the snare itself was rather flimsily made, even if it was strong enough to hold a beasty it was rusted and old. If he loosened it from where it was held, he might be able to open up the loop and, with a momentary tug, free the leg from its confinement. As he worked away at the peg holding the entire thing in, Qrow spared a cursory glance towards the body of the beast. This huge thing had just been living on Patch this whole time? And no one ever ran into it except in legends? It was crazy. Especially with the growing population. Where did it go during the day? Were there more? There had to be more, the legend wouldn't have gone on for so long if it was just one.   
There was something not quite right about its other leg. It wasn't the same as the one that had been snared. There was no fur on it like there was on this one. Like it had been shaved or almost as if it wasn't made of the same material. Like it was made of metal? Don't be ridiculous Qrow, you're just tired after your long day at work and now you're hallucinating about a giant wolf beasty having the same prosthetics as James. Get a grip or get a hobby. It was probably just a trick of the light. Or it actually was a metal leg because it had been injured before and someone had been kind enough to fix it up. 

Qrow must've been still for too long because there was hot breath at the back of his neck to encourage him onward.   
"Easy, easy, I'm almost there," he assured, and with a snapping sound, the peg came loose in his hands.   
"See? Now you gotta be very still for just a moment, okay? I promise it will be just like ripping off a plaster. Ready?"   
Qrow gently pulled the wire through the loop so that the line wasn't taught within the flesh anymore. Beasty's front paws shifted nervously. It had never experienced a plaster before therefore it had no idea what to expect. He was almost ready to pull it out when what sounded like a gunshot blasted through the trees. The animal panicked and yanked itself away from him as fast as it could, flesh torn from bone as it yelped out in pain.   
"Who the hell-" Qrow shouted in the direction of the gunshot, yet there was no one to be seen in the trees, nor was there any rustling or shouting that suggested a hunting party. It wasn't even hunting season.   
"Bird scarer," he whispered to himself. Judging by the direction he'd chased the animal and the steep bank, they must be quite near farmland by now. Qrow turned to see where Beasty had gotten to and his heart ached to see it slumped against a tree, licking at its wound in between heavy, frightened pants. Ew, since when did you get so soft over wild animals.   
"Hey, hey! It's okay! Nothing's going to hurt you, it was just a bird scarer. It only sounds scary." 

Beasty wasn't convinced. A low growling noise slowly got louder and louder to tell Qrow he wasn't welcome anymore and he should leave very very soon if he wanted to get out unscathed.   
"Come on now, I'm not just gonna leave you alone when you're like that. At least let me give you aura or something."   
Now he was sounding like a crazy person. How can he possibly make this huge, dangerous predator even more dangerous? Why, by giving it a forcefield of course! But it didn't deserve to die on some rusty old trap and it probably wouldn't even know how to put it up. Stop. Stop right there. You are not going to try and rationalise this decision. Mmmm too late it's already charging at you. 

Qrow barely had time to leap up over it and transform himself into a bird in order to escape, but in those few moments as he (rather acrobatically for a man his age) flipped over its back, his fingers touched its fur. It already had aura- inactive and non protective, but unlocked. A ripple spread out across his fingers in red from where his aura brushed Beasty's, and the fur mirrored in a familiar shade of cobalt blue. There was no time to think because Beasty wasn't willing to let up just yet. It knew that Qrow and Crow were the same thing and despite being wounded, it was more than willing to give chase. Well, at least he could keep an eye on it. Or more, it could keep an eye on him. 

Man, it was fast. Flap, wings, flap! The Great Qrow Branwen was not about to get swallowed whole by an oversized wolfie with incredibly sharp teeth. He'd be the laughing stock of the afterlife! 

Finally, he could see moonlight on the other side of the treeline. Once he got there, he could fly up and completely out of harm's way. Just a few more flappy flaps and YES! Qrow pulled up sharply, his crow form making the turn with ease, although when he looked back down to see where the beasty had gotten to, he saw it retreating back into the forest without even daring to step foot in the clearing around his and James's house. It was odd but fair enough. He was home now and this monster only seemed to want to protect the woods, and for all the wacky and wonderful new things in the world, Qrow could respect that. He wasn't even sure if he was fully awake anymore. After landing neatly on the porch in his human form, Qrow went back inside. No more adventures with strange woodland creatures today.

  
When he awoke the next morning, James was snoring softly next to him, arm curled around Qrow's body to hold him closer. Qrow was curious, so poked James's hand with his own aura and watched as a red ripple ran up his fingers and a blue one spread through James's hand. What a coincidence that the colours were so similar. Maybe it was like a metaphor. That caused James to stir behind him, sighing as his hand pulled away from Qrow to rub his eyes before coming back to Qrow with a different grip.   
"I had the weirdest experience last night," he told his still-sleepy partner. 

"If this is about the plug socket dream again," James replied groggily, "I don't want to hear it." 

"Okay, I promise it's not the plug socket. I think I saw the Barghest in the woods last night. You know like the big black beasty?" Qrow said as he played with James's fingers. James stiffened beside him, fingers curling as his nails dug into his palms. 

"You did? What happened?" 

"It just kind of showed up all wolfy-like so I went to check it out, fell down an embankment and found it was caught in a snare, halfway to cutting its own leg off,' Qrow recounted casually, rolling over to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling instead. James's eyes were boring holes in him he could feel it.   
"What hand cream have you been using? your hands are very soft." 

"Drugstore own brand but uh- it didn't hurt you or anything, did it? I've heard stories about beasts from around these parts that could easily-" James began before Qrow cut him off. 

"Jeez Jim, I haven't fallen that out of shape," Qrow laughed, making light out of his misfortune as ever, "I could still best a hundred grimm with one hand tied behind my back. I helped the fuzzy little woodland animal like the good samaritan I am and it ran off into the woods."  
James still looked white as a sheet and petrified. Qrow's heart fizzed.  
"But I will be more careful next time. Breathe, I'm okay and I doubt it's going to come back after that ordeal. Breeeeeeeeeathe." 

James sighed, "Sorry. You're right. I'm just a bit paranoid still. Do you want eggs? I'm in the mood for eggs. Not raw ones- unless you want raw ones."  
He tossed the covers off himself and onto Qrow, who graciously accepted the extra heat even if it meant losing his cuddly toy. 

"I do not want, and will never want, raw eggs, James!" Qrow exclaimed through laughter as he watched James pull on a dressing gown.  
"Jim, tell me you weren't wearing socks in bed." 

James looked down and back up at Qrow, "My toes were cold." 

"I could've warmed them up for you rather than letting you wear socks to bed! Socks!" Qrow called back. James let out a hearty laugh as he opened the door and went downstairs.  
"Now you tell me about your foot fetish?! I'm gonna keep my toes covered from now on, I don't know how you'll act!"


End file.
